For the fourth time, a decision on an appeal of a townhouse project proposed for a site at the corner of Broad and East Front streets was left up in the air after a New Bern Board of Adjustment meeting this week.

The board had scheduled the meeting for Monday night to hear the appeal over a decision by the Historic Preservation Commission granting a Certificate of Appropriateness for development of four townhouses at the corner of 313 East Front St. The appeal was continued until the next regular session of the board May 20.

Sarah Afflerbach, who is the chairperson of the Board of Adjustment and the architect for the townhouse project, said she had recused herself from overseeing the appeal because of her involvement in the process. Beth Walker stood in as chairperson.

“I am not a sitting chairman of that meeting,” she said. “I have recused myself. Since I am chair (of the Board of Adjustment), people have asked me not to talk to the Sun Journal about this.”

The continuation came after Kinston attorney John P. Marshall, representing the developers, questioned whether the appellants had standing to bring an appeal because only one of the eight appellants lives within 100 feet of the proposed site of the townhouses.

Bernard George, land and community development administrator, said members of the Board of Adjustment did not feel they had the legal background to make that decision.

The board did not have an attorney since Scott Davis, New Bern city attorney and attorney for the Board of Adjustment, removed himself from the appeals process.

Davis is one of the developers of the townhouses, along with I. Clark Wright Jr., John and Susie Ward and Robert W. Edwards.

The one appellant who lives within 100 feet of the proposed townhouse site also asked that the appeal be tabled to see if she needed an attorney.

A petition was raised to stop the development, but it received final approval from the HPC in January. Since then, the appeal has dragged through postponements and cancelled meetings.

George said the four postponements were mostly the result of confusion over notifications of the meeting.

The townhouse development plan will allow construction of four two-story townhomes over garages where the old Mills and Willey law offices were at on the corner of Broad and East Front streets.

Those law offices have been demolished and removed since the appeal was filed.

Afflerbach said in an earlier interview that the HPC and state historical office determined the offices were a noncontributing structure in the historical district.

The HPC approved the demolition phase in December before granting the redevelopment plans in January.

The appeal was filed on alleged procedural errors on the application and for not following proper land use ordinances and general statutes.

The property for the proposed development is about 11,000 square feet, and four townhouses will have a total footprint of 4,000 square feet on the site, according to the plans.

The appellants are concerned that the townhouses would be too large, obstructing views from Board Street.

Afflerbach said the design work on the townhouses is continuing.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.